2 arrested in theft of metal from burned bridge

July 12, 2013 | AP Authorities say they arrested two people for trying to steal metal from the site of a fire that destroyed one of Michigan's oldest covered wooden bridges.

The Ionia County sheriff's department says the 33-year-old man and 31-year-old woman from Orleans Township were caught Tuesday with about 300 pounds of iron fittings, likely to be sold for scrap.

The department says they were released pending formal charges. Names weren't immediately released.

Investigators say it could be weeks before they officially determine the cause of the early Sunday fire at Whites Bridge. The sheriff's department has said it was arson. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

The bridge was built in the late 1860s. It crossed the Flat River in Ionia County's Keene Township, about 15 miles east of Grand Rapids.